


Save the last dance (for me)

by Nakeycatstakebaths



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Daddy Daughter Dance, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kid Fic, Lot of dummies to lovers as well, Madi is Clarke's biological daughter, Mutual Pining, Romantic Comedy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24670276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nakeycatstakebaths/pseuds/Nakeycatstakebaths
Summary: At 7 years old, Madi Griffin knows a few things for sure: she loves her mom, Anne of Green Gables, pepperoni pizza, puzzles and she wants more than anything to go to the daddy-daughter dance.The problem is, that she doesn’t have a dad to take her. But she does have a Bellamy and that’s pretty much the same thing as far as she’s concerned.But for Clarke and Bellamy, this daddy-daughter dance might just force them to accept that they’re meant to be more than just best friends, that the three of them were always supposed to be a family.It’s harder to know things for sure when you’re not 7, but when you love someone, it’s impossible to not be sure.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Comments: 50
Kudos: 370





	Save the last dance (for me)

**Author's Note:**

> Just a cute little family fluff haha 
> 
> love y'all!

Tap, tap tap.

Tap, tap, tap.

Bellamy looked up from his thick stack of grading. He’d been staring at this terrible essay about the Peloponnesian war for so long that he felt like he was losing his mind.

The knocking stopped, probably just a package, so he turned back to his work, trying to regain his focus until—

Tap, tap, tap.

Whoever was out there, didn’t seem like they were leaving until he answered.

Hopefully, it wasn’t that new woman from a few floors down, the one that seemed to think that asking him to do favors for her was some kind of flirting. He didn’t mind doing the occasional odd job for people, especially since he knew building maintenance never did their jobs. Still, there were only so many non-existent leaks he could fix or unfused bulbs he could change before it started feeling like a waste of time.

Tap, tap—

Before the third knock could sound, he swung the door open.

“I knew you were home!” Madi grinned, the gap between her front teeth flashing brightly at him as she pushed past his legs and walked right into his apartment.

She had two little ribbons tied around her pigtails, and she flopped onto his couch like it was her own. It basically was. As far as he was concerned, Madi could ask him to give her this entire apartment, and he would move out onto the street the next day.

He had a soft spot for her, her dark hair and smart quips reminded him of Octavia at that age, and she never failed to make his day brighter.

“Does your mom know you’re here?” he asked, calling over his shoulder as he moved into the kitchen to get her a glass of milk. 

Madi’s mom was his best friend and also probably the most beautiful woman that Bellamy had ever seen.

From pretty much the moment he first saw her, he’d had a massive crush on her. But she had a kid and was juggling nursing school and a full-time job, it never felt right to make a move. So, he settled for just being friends, and for the most part, that was great too. They got along fantastically, as it turned out, Clarke wasn’t just beautiful she was also exciting and smart.

Nearly three years later, he still wasn’t over his crush. But he was grateful for his friendship with Clarke and loved Madi like his own kid.

“She’s on the phone, but she knows the only place I ever go is here. She and grandma are arguing again,” Madi sighed, wrinkling her nose at the glass of milk, and setting it back down on the table.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just got bored.”

“Wanna help me grade papers?” he asked, tapping the stack of essays on the coffee table for emphasis.

“I’m already bored. I don’t want to be _more_ bored!” she groaned, looking at Bellamy like he was the dumbest person she’d ever met.

He chuckled, giving her a resigned nod. The kid had a point. Essays in themselves were boring, and this particular batch of essays sucked.

“Do you want to work on that puzzle we were doing last week? I left it up by the window.”

“Now that sounds like fun,” Madi nodded excitedly, springing up from the couch and bouncing excitedly, her ribboned pigtails jumping along with her.

Bellamy picked up the glass of milk, following her to where the Anne of Green Gables puzzle was laid out carefully on the floor. He and Clarke read the book with Madi for a few months, a kid’s version that was lightened up to be more digestible. A puzzle felt like the logical next step, especially since Madi was now obsessed with the idea of wearing straw hats and running around in fields.

They worked on the puzzle for a few hours, listening to an old Kenny Loggins CD and building a picture of Anne standing beside a majestic brown horse. It was quiet, peaceful, a lovely Saturday afternoon. Bellamy had always liked kids, gotten along well with them, it was why he became a teacher. Madi was his favorite kind of kid, though, quiet and contemplative, entirely too smart for her own good.

At first, he was always careful to make sure that he only hung out with Madi with Clarke around; he didn’t want to come off like a creep. As a male teacher, he knew the parents worried about things like that…but if she thought that, she never let him know. In the process of doing so, he and Clarke grew pretty close themselves. He fit well into their lives, enjoyed their quiet evenings together watching movies or playing games.

It never felt like babysitting when they were together, she was just a tiny friend. A friend that he kind of parented but for the most part, he enjoyed her company. When they’d first moved in, Clarke had tried to pay him for watching her, entirely confused by the idea that someone would do something like that for free. But he always refused. It never felt right.

“I figured I would find you here,” Clarke said, surprising them both as she sat down beside Bellamy.

He hadn’t even heard her come in, too engrossed in fitting together the final pieces of their puzzle. He smiled sheepishly at her, passing over a few puzzle pieces as they both watched Madi study the puzzle with intense concentration. Her pigtails had come undone slightly, and her tongue was propped between her teeth, she was so engrossed in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice her mother’s entrance.

“As you can see, we’ve had quite the afternoon…”

“Well then, it would be absolutely tragical for me to interrupt,” she said, clicking one of the pieces into place before sitting back on her knees.

“Do you want to stay for dinner? I was thinking about ordering something,” he asked, trying to keep his tone casual, but really, he hoped Clarke would agree.

“Actually, that would be great. I spent the entire afternoon arguing with my mom about…f-i-n-a-n-c-e-s,” Clarke admitted, scrubbing her hand lightly over her cheek. It was only then that he realized how exhausted she looked, how all the hair had escaped from her braid. “I didn’t really have time to make anything.”

“Come on,” he whispered, hauling himself off the floor and offering a hand to help her do the same. “I think I have a bottle of wine somewhere.”

***

Clarke drained the last of her wine from her glass, wishing she could indulge in another, but knowing that she still had to make Madi take a bath and get to a least one chapter of their Anne of Green Gables re-read. It had been a long day, a day she figured would end in a good cry, but somehow it had turned itself around. Bellamy had a knack for that, for making her feel like everything would be okay.

It was simple, a glass of wine and a pizza, but it was enough to unknot some of the anxiety from her stomach.

She wanted to take Madi to Disney World for her birthday, to surprise her with something big. She was a good kid who worked hard and tried her best to behave, she deserved to have a little magic in her life. But the problem was, trips to Disney came with a hefty price tag, one that she couldn’t come close to affording on her salary…not if she wanted to pay her bills and eat anyway.

Even with budget apps, spreadsheets, and raking through forums online, she couldn’t figure out a way to make it work. In the end, she’d sucked it up and called her mom, as much as it pained her to do it, it was for her daughter’s sake.

But getting anything from her mom always came with a price.

They disagreed on most things, especially the way Clarke chose to live her life. She loved her mom, knew that she was just trying to do what she thought was right. But Abby always came back to insisting that Clarke would be able to manage more easily if she uprooted their entire lives and moved back to Arkadia. This, of course, was out of the question for a lot of reasons, mainly because Clarke and her mother had never seen eye to eye. They had a good life in Polis, it wasn’t luxurious, but they managed well. She couldn’t imagine leaving all of this behind, her job, their apartment, and—Bellamy.

So, Disney would just have to wait another day.

“Bellamy?” Madi asked, chewing thoughtfully on her piece of pizza. “Can you come to the daddy-daughter dance with me?”

If Clarke wasn’t already done with her wine, she would’ve probably spit it out in reaction to her daughter’s question.

She was always worried something like this would happen. Madi didn’t really have any men in her life other than Bellamy. Her dad had never been in the picture in the first place, and Clarke’s father passed away when she was in high school. It was only natural that she would start to view the only man who spent time with her as a father figure.

Bellamy was always patient with her, played games, helped her with her homework. In a lot of ways, he was the best father figure Clarke could’ve asked for. He was a hell of a lot better than Madi’s actual father, that much was for sure. 

But the problem was that Bellamy wasn’t just Madi’s father figure, somewhere along the way, he’d turned into Clarke’s best friend. A best friend that she was most definitely in love with. How could she not be? He was smart, funny, impossibly kind, and he loved her daughter like she was his own child. It would’ve been weirder honestly if she hadn’t fallen in love with him, especially considering how gorgeous he was.

“I know you’re not my daddy. But I don’t have a daddy, and you’re my Bellamy,” she continued, taking another bite of pizza, seemingly unaware to the fact that both Bellamy and Clarke were frozen in place.

Bellamy’s eyes flicked to hers, and he raised a single eyebrow, a silent ask for permission.

She nodded, knowing that it would break Madi’s heart if she said no. She wanted her daughter to have this experience, to be able to feel included with all the other girls.

Whether or not her heart could handle Bellamy getting all dressed up and taking her daughter to a school event was another story entirely.

Her feelings, until now, had been pretty easy to push down.

Sure, it absolutely killed her whenever she saw that new leggy brunette from downstairs hanging in Bellamy’s doorway, asking him the fix her pantry lightbulb. But, she usually managed to brush it off. This was really toeing the line though, it would make her feelings a million times harder to ignore. 

This would probably break her own heart in the process, seeing the life that the three of them could’ve had together so blatantly, but this was about Madi, not about her.

“Nothing in the world would make me happier than taking you to the daddy-daughter dance kiddo,” he smiled, reaching his arm out just in time for Madi to fly into his side. She wrapped her arms around his neck so tightly that he surely couldn’t breathe, burying her face in his neck.

He met her eyes again over Madi’s shoulder, and the fondness in them almost killed her on the spot. She longed to be able to stand up and hug both of them, to be able to tell the two most important people in her life that she loved them.

But instead, she just mouthed, “Thank you” from across the table.

***

“If you’re not comfortable with the whole daddy-daughter dance thing, I can figure something out. I’m sorry you got put on the spot like that,” Clarke rambled as she swung the door open, not even waiting for him to greet her.

“That’s…not why I’m here,” Bellamy replied, pressing a to-go cup of coffee into her hand, not elaborating further.

She stepped back, allowing him to step in as she mentally berated herself for being so awkward. Weird situation or not, this was still Bellamy. Why was she acting like this? He wasn’t making a big deal out of this, and she shouldn’t either.

“Rough day?” she asked, stepping into the kitchen to get a plate of the cupcakes she’d made earlier. Based on the way his hair was sticking up and the already loosened tie, he was not having a good day.

“I had a literal mutiny in my classroom, paper everywhere, yelling and screaming, throwing things. I needed to talk to someone who isn’t twelve,” he sighed, sitting heavily at her kitchen table.

Clarke listened as he vented about his day, unwrapping a cupcake and nudging it toward him. Even if he hadn’t asked for one, sugar made everything better. She commiserated with him over how terrible twelve-year-olds were and assured him that his lecture on Moses was not the issue at hand.

Two cupcakes and two huge coffees later, Bellamy seemed to have recovered somewhat from his terrible day. Clarke couldn’t help but feel a little giddy over the idea that she’d contributed to that in some way. There were times that she felt guilty for how much she relied on him…times like this made her feel a little better about their relationship being a two-way street. Bellamy was the person she went to about literally everything, and she hoped that she was that for him as well.

They sat in companionable silence, just enjoying one another’s presence as they finished their coffee.

“I’m happy to go to the dance with Madi, by the way. I never had a dad to go to those kinds of things with either. I get how she feels,” Bellamy said after a beat.

“I’m glad she has you, I don’t know what I would’ve done otherwise,” Clarke admitted.

It was true. She’d had sleepless nights over that little blue invitation that came home with Madi from Girl Scouts last week. Things like this were always a worry for her, that Madi would feel like she was missing something, like she was unwanted. The idea of that alone made Clarke feel nauseous. She knew Cillian’s lack of involvement would come up eventually, but Madi was still so young, too young to understand that some people just didn’t want to be parents. There was no right way to explain to a seven-year-old why their father had left the country before they were born and would probably never be back.

In her panic, she’d considered planning something else to distract Madi from it. But her daughter, always the overachiever, had beaten her to the punch.

“She’s a great kid. I feel lucky that she felt comfortable enough to ask me.”

As if on cue, Madi burst through the door, her backpack hanging off one shoulder and a slightly crumpled piece of paper in her hand.

“Mom! Mom—oh, hi, Bellamy. This is good, I can just tell you both together. We’re doing a musical, and I’m going to be the star,” Madi yelled excitedly, slapping the paper down on the table before racing off to her room, not bothering to explain further. 

“She’s tree number two,” Clarke chuckled, skimming the sheet, trying not to let her laughter get loud enough for her daughter to hear.

“Never one for lack of enthusiasm,” Bellamy agreed, taking the sheet as he joined in with her laughter. Madi had drawn a big red heart in marker over her name and role, further emphasizing how proud of it she was.

***

“This whole thing is massively out of control,” Octavia said, dropping a handful of bags by Bellamy’s door as she burst into his apartment. “It’s one thing to have a pretty female best friend who you just so happen to be in love with and fine, she’d got a cute daughter, and we all know you’re great with kids. But now I’m making you a tiny baby corsage so you can take her to a daddy-daughter dance? You’re in too deep, Bell.”

“Say that a little louder with the door open, why don’t you?” he groaned, shutting the door swiftly behind his sister.

Octavia, as it so happened, was a florist, a florist who specialized in colorful flower arrangements. Bellamy knew he was in store for an onslaught of criticism when he asked for her help, but seeing Madi’s face when she got her yellow and white corsage and a tiny flower crown would be well worth it. He’d also gotten a few pink roses for Clarke, he just couldn’t resist.

“They turned out really nicely. If this doesn’t convince Clarke that you love her, nothing will,” Octavia beamed, carefully removing three plastic boxes from the bags. Each arrangement was perfect, elegant, but still colorful. Even if she was annoying, Octavia was really good at her job.

“I’m not trying to show Clarke how much I love her. I’m trying to make tonight a happy memory for a kid that doesn’t have a dad. You and I both know how shitty it feels to be _that_ kid.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get that. I just worry about you…your feelings matter too.”

“I’m a big boy O, I can handle my own feelings.”

“Have you ever thought about just telling her?” Octavia asked, clearly exasperated, rolling her eyes at him while she dug in his fridge.

“It’s—complicated, okay? Just drop it,” he snipped, praying that his tone would be enough to get his sister off his back.

Sure enough, Octavia did drop it, for the most part. Every once in a while, she tossed in a jab here and there, threw in a joke about Bellamy’s singleness. But they mainly just spent the evening drinking beer and watching the Yankee’s game, catching up on each other’s lives.

It was nice, comfortable, a break for the confusion he’d been dealing with regarding Clarke. Octavia had a point, things would be a lot easier if he just told her how he felt. But now there was the added confusion of Madi. If something went south between them, she would lose another parental figure. He didn’t want to risk that, couldn’t put Clarke in that position. Things would just have to stay the way they were, even if it broke his heart every time he had to tell them goodbye and go back to his own, empty apartment.

***

With a deep breath, Bellamy brushed invisible dirt off his suit. He couldn’t remember the last time he wore something this fancy—probably Octavia’s wedding. He’d definitely forgotten how uncomfortable dress pants were. But Madi had given him precise instructions, she’d even come over a few days ago with Clarke to help him pick out his tie. She was so excited, the uncomfortable pants and bright blue tie were more than worth it.

Rearranging the tiny corsage and flower crown in his free hand, he knocked, chuckling to himself as he heard Madi and Clarke squabbling inside.

“You clean up nicely,” Clarke said, greeting him with soft eyes and a gentle smile, ushering him into the apartment.

“Nothing but the best for our Madi with an I,” he agreed, holding out the corsage and flowers for Clarke to examine.

She beamed, taking the small plastic box from him to look at more closely.

“This is incredible, Bell, you—” she began, a glimmer of tears in her eyes as she gingerly opened the box. It wasn’t much, just a few small roses bunched together on a bracelet, sprinkled with glitter and a little bit of tulle, but from the look on Clarke’s face, he knew it was the right choice.

But before she could finish, Madi yelled from somewhere around the corner, “Is he here? Can I make my entrance?”

Clarke snorted, shaking her head at her daughter’s theatrics before confirming that Bellamy had, in fact, arrived, and they were ready for her entrance.

A few seconds later, Madi came running from around the corner, her flowy blue dress fluttering behind her. True to form, it had billowing sleeves, and a line of pink ribbon weaved through the back. Her hair was carefully curled, and there was a small smudge of blue eyeshadow over her big, blue eyes.

“You look beautiful, kiddo,” Bellamy grinned, kneeling down so Madi could fly into his arms in a flash of blue tulle.

He hugged her tightly, trying to convey how much it meant to him to be able to be there for her, how touched he was that this tiny, amazing human thought of him as a father.

He never had a dad of his own and didn’t really know how to navigate this feeling. He’d done his best with Octavia, but at the end of the day, he was her brother, not her dad.

After O got married and moved across town, he’d been kind of lost and incredibly lonely. Having Clarke and Madi move in across the hall and fill his life with laughter and excitement, was an unexpected blessing.

He wasn’t sure either of them even knew how much light they’d brought into his world, but he hoped he brought a little more light into their lives too. 

Having a kid look up to him, trust him, love him, and want him to love them back, it was an immense gift—and an enormous responsibility, both of which he never lost sight of.

As he held Madi, rubbing gentle circles over her narrow back, he couldn’t help but feel proud. She was an incredible kid, and sure, almost all of that was due to Clarke. But maybe, just maybe, he had helped a little too.

His entire goal for tonight was to make her happy, to ensure that she didn’t feel like she was any different from the other kids, that she felt as loved and valued as possible.

“This is going to be the best day ever,” she squealed, stepping out of his grasp so she could spin in a circle, holding her hands out to catch the swirling fabric of her dress.

“I think you should go see what Bellamy brought,” Clarke said, kneeling beside him and pointing to the crown and the corsage on the table.

Madi almost tripped in her excitement as she raced to examine her gifts, putting the flower crown on her head before she’d even stopped moving fully.

“This crown is a crown for adventure,” she declared, climbing onto a dining room chair and flinging herself off of it, running in large, winding circles around the room.

“I would say maybe don’t let her eat any more sugar…” Clarke murmured, tilting her head toward his so that Madi couldn’t overhear.

“Shoot. I made a reservation at Joe’s candy palace,” Bellamy teased, letting himself place a hand at the small of Clarke’s back, leaning in a little closer than necessary as he spoke.

Just last night, he’d promised himself he wouldn’t get too caught up, that he would finally come to terms with just being friends. And yet, he couldn’t help the way his heart fluttered as Clarke laughed at his terrible joke.

He loved her, and he loved Madi, and he wished this was their reality, that they could be a real family, that he could make them both this happy every day.

But for now, this was a pretty close second.

“Bellamy, we’re going to have the best time, dancing and making our mark on the world. Maybe I’ll meet my Gilbert and have the tragical romance of a lifetime. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Madi swooned, flopping dramatically into Clarke’s lap.

She adjusted herself, so she was half draped across both their legs, her head in Clarke’s lap and her feet in Bellamy’s.

“To quote your dear Anne, ‘Women are not made whole by men. Women are whole the moment they enter the world’,” Clarke said, bopping Madi on the nose.

“Perhaps we wait a few years for the tragical romance,” Bellamy agreed, winking at Clarke over Madi’s head.

With an overdramatic, seven-year-old eyeroll, Madi rolled off their legs and continued her twirls around the living room. All the action somehow left her with even more energy than she’d had before.

“That line is from the show…she’s going to figure out that we watched it without her,” he whispered, raising a single eyebrow as he tried to contain his laugher.

“We had to make sure it was appropriate!”

“Mhmm, tell that to your ‘Anne and Gilbert prolonged eye contact drinking game.’”

“You’re just mad because you always lose.”

“It’s impossible to lose a drinking game…”

“Well, you somehow manage,” Clarke giggled, edging just a breath closer to him as she smacked him with the back of her hand, barely able to keep her voice down with the force of her laugher.

They’d been slowly, but surely, moving their way through the Anne of Green Gables Netflix adaptation, sneaking in a few episodes during the week after Madi went to bed. It was surprisingly good, especially since they’d become more than well acquainted with the characters during their many re-reads. There was nothing special about those nights, just the two of them, sitting on the couch, sharing a two-pack of Reese’s cups and the occasional beer, but they were some of his favorites.

At this point, they were both way too invested in the show, and often they would spend hours after the episode ended picking it apart, discussing the nuance. Occasionally, they would make a game out of it, daring each other to drink at certain scenes.

“We could probably squeeze in an episode tonight…I think we’re on the season 2 finale.”

“I like the sound of that,” she agreed, standing back up and holding a hand out to help lift him off the floor.

Their hands stayed locked for a beat longer, his thumb rubbing across the length of her knuckles as they pulled away.

He was excited for his night of dancing with Madi, but he was equally excited for an evening with Clarke and an episode of his favorite show.

Octavia might have been right when she’d said he was in too deep.

But the thing was, he didn’t really mind.

***

Clarke flipped through the photos she’d taken tonight on her phone. She’d barely moved since Madi and Bellamy left, hadn’t even bothered to change into her pajamas.

She thought she would be able to handle it, seeing Bellamy all dressed up, twirling her daughter around in her party dress. He’d really outdone himself with the flower crown and the corsage, done the absolute most to make sure Madi had the best night ever.

Seeing them, seeing it all, she’d nearly cried a handful of times.

As desperate as it sounded, she wished he loved her back, wished he could be more than just her best friend and her daughter’s de-facto male role model. He was the best person she knew, so loving, kind, always taking care of the people around him. He was the kind of person she saw herself settling down with, the person she wanted to watch TV with before she went to bed.

When she’d first moved into this building, she was stressed, lonely, entirely at a loss of how she was going to handle everything by herself.

And yeah, it was really hard at times. But whenever things got hard, Bellamy was there for her. She’d like to think that she was there for him too. They held each other up, kept each other going, and somewhere along the way, they became a great team.

The fact that Madi trusted him enough to ask him to her daddy-daughter dance was evidence of that. He was part of their family, and maybe he didn’t love her in the way that she wanted, but it was undeniable that he did love them.

She paused on a picture, Madi was standing on Bellamy’s feet, explaining to him how he was supposed to dance. He was looking at her with practiced concentration, even through the picture, it was apparent he was listening to every word she said. Madi was beaming, clearly loving the fact that someone was listening to her instructions.

It was such a pure moment, a real snapshot of their dynamic.

It summed up one of the things she loved most about Bellamy. He never treated Madi like a little kid, he just treated her like a person. He always listened to her, ensured that she felt heard, and knew that her ideas were important.

He did that with Clarke too, never pitied her as a single mom, didn’t judge her. He was one of the few people who knew everything about her, who had seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, and he’d stayed through it all.

Against her better judgment, Clarke set the photo of Madi and Bellamy as her lock screen. It hurt just as much as it made her heart swell, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away.

***

Madi was fast asleep by the time Bellamy pulled back into his parking spot, leaving him to carry her up the stairs. On the drive back, she’d thanked him, told him she’d had the best night ever and that her heart was happy, and it had taken everything for him to not burst into tears on the spot.

He never expected a thank you from her. He didn’t need one, but hearing her say that he’d made her heart happy was the best gift he could have possibly asked for. He’d started to tell her how much it meant to him, too, that he would always be there for her, but before he could finish, she was already snoring.

Smart as Madi was, she was still seven, and her body could only handle so much sugar and jumping before she crashed.

“I see someone had a good time,” Clarke whispered, smiling gently as she ushered them back into her apartment, brushing her palm over Madi’s loosened curls.

The look she gave him felt like he was really coming home. She was in her pajamas, hair pulled up in a messy bun, the Christmas lights in their living room were clicked on, filling the room with a soft glow, and the TV was already pulled up on Netflix.

Even though he knew he shouldn’t, there was a small flicker of hope, that maybe this meant as much to her as it did to him, that she had been looking forward to this all day too.

“I can take her. I probably shouldn’t let her sleep in this dress,” Clarke said, reaching out to wrap her arms around Madi. The brush of their arms stirred the familiar jolt of longing in his chest, the one he usually worked hard to push away. But his resolve was worn down, maybe it was misplaced, but something about tonight had given him hope.

“Are you still down for a few episodes of Anne with an E?” he asked, hoping that she wouldn’t backtrack on their plans, that maybe she was feeling the shift too.

“Absolutely. There’s a beer for you in the fridge, I’ll just be a sec.” 

Trying not to let his excitement show, Bellamy watched Clarke disappear down the long hallway, holding Madi.

He needed to get out of this suit—and he needed to get the small bouquet of flowers that he made Octavia put together for Clarke. He had talked himself out of giving them to her earlier, figuring it would be inappropriate to divert attention away from Madi.

But now, Madi’s dance was more than a success, and Clarke deserved to feel a little special too. As he walked back to his apartment, he considered how he would give them to her. But nothing felt right, he didn’t want to make it too romantic, but he wanted her to know that he cared about her. Maybe he would just play it by ear, overthinking was never something that served him well. Perhaps it was time for a change of pace.

Loosening his tie, he went to retrieve the box of flowers from where he’d tucked them in the living room, but to his surprise, there was a new box in its place.

Written on a yellow sticky note, placed carefully on top of the plastic case, it read:

“Give her something special. You deserve to be happy, and so does she. This is some of my best work, don’t waste it.”

Octavia had always been a meddler, but for once, he was grateful for it. The arrangement was beautiful, a stunning array of pink roses, baby’s breath, and white gardenias. It was wrapped in delicate white paper and tied with a pink ribbon. Amazingly, something about it screamed Clarke, like Octavia, had somehow managed to climb inside her mind and figure out the perfect bouquet for her.

He left the flowers tucked in the box while he changed out of his suit, trading it for a much more comfortable set of PJs. Part of him wanted to stay dressed up to give her the arrangement, but it felt more true to form for it to be casual.

As he cradled the bouquet in the crook of his arm and braced himself outside of Clarke’s door, he realized he’d never been this nervous about walking into this apartment. This had always felt like a second home, a place where he was welcome no matter what.

Being nervous wasn’t going to help him, he and Clarke knew each other, took care of each other. Even if nothing came of tonight, he would still have them in his life. If she didn’t feel the same way, he would get over it, he had to. He’d made a promise to Madi that he would always be there for her, and he wasn’t going to go back on it.

“Why are you standing out—” Clarke asked, swinging the door open and completely catching him off guard. “Oh, my God.”

“I had Octavia make one for you too,” he said, his brain suddenly going utterly blank as he held the flowers out to her.

“Bellamy, this is…wow…these are, these are absolutely stunning. I’ve never had someone give me something like this before,” she almost whispered, carefully reaching out to take the bouquet before stepping back to allow him inside.

With a smile that looked almost shy, she bent down, breathing in the soft floral scent. Bellamy couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but at least she didn’t seem upset.

“I don’t even know how to begin thanking you for tonight. You’re too good to us. I never…well, I never thought I would trust anyone to take care of my daughter the way I trust you. I can’t believe you got that flower crown made, that you let her pick out that heinous tie for you, I—” Clarke rambled, her eyes welling with tears as her gaze shifted between the flowers and Bellamy.

“You never have to thank me. You’ve always been there for me too. You and Madi have given me something I never thought I would have again, you’re family. And family takes care of each other,” he interrupted, unable to let Clarke continue thanking him for something that he never felt obligated to do. “I’ll always be there, no matter what.” 

They looked at each other, both a little watery-eyed, the weight of their friendship sitting between them. This felt different than any other night like things were lingering between them, unsaid things.

He wasn’t crazy earlier when he thought something in the air had shifted, something was definitely different.

“Stay,” she said after a long stretch of silence, her voice hoarse, a few tears finally escaping down her cheeks.

His heart stopped, skipping a beat as his brain caught up with her words, trying desperately to uncover the implication.

Did she?

Was she?

It wasn’t possible, and yet…

“You want me to stay?” he whispered, voice barely audible over his thudding heartbeat.

“I want you to stay and be part of our family, for real. I—” she began, her voice cracking again as she edged closer to him, her free hand reaching out to cup his jaw. “I love you.”

And just like that, nothing else in the world mattered.

Nothing mattered except those three words.

She loved him.

She wanted to be a family.

He almost wanted to pinch himself, he was half expecting to jerk up and find himself in his suit, asleep on his couch. But the heat of her palm against his cheek was real, the soft whoosh of her breathing was real, this was his reality.

As much as he wanted to tell her how much he loved her back, words completely escaped him. There was nothing he could say right now that could adequately convey how much he wanted to stay, how much he wanted to be a part of this family for real.

So instead of speaking, he just bent down, pulled her close, and kissed her.

He kissed her like he still couldn’t believe it was real, like he was expecting to be yanked away from this at any moment.

He funneled all the years of love into it, hoped that she would understand, that she would know that he loved her too.

It took her a breath to register, but within seconds, the bouquet fell to the floor, landing with a soft thud as her hands laced through his hair, pulling him closer.

They held each other, both so desperate that it was almost painful, a flurry of hands and lips and tongues and teeth.

“I love you too,” he said, drawing back just enough to meet her eyes. He pressed their foreheads together, hands cradling her cheeks, knowing for the first time, that she knew for sure.

She was his future, the love of his life, and they were going to be a family.

Well, they were already a family.

But now they could make it official.

**Author's Note:**

> This is pure tooth rotting fluff and I'm not even a little sorry about it. I hope y'all like this little thing I thought of randomly this morning haha. I love hearing what you think and your feedback is much appreciated! 
> 
> I hope you are all stay safe and well and taking care of yourselves during all the events that are ongoing. To go off of this I am participating in a writing fundraiser for BLM and related organizations (ACLU, Breonna Taylor Fund, George Floyd Memorial Fund, etc.) and taking fic requests in exchange for a donation to the civil rights organization of your choice. I'm accepting prompts and I'm also offering moodboards. If you want more info or are interested, you can let me know in a comment or find me on Tumblr @Nakey-cats-take-bathsss
> 
> As always, much love <3


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